Adjustable spacer block system for use in towing vehicles

ABSTRACT

An appliance for use with a vehicle tow sling comprising a cross beam having two upstanding, adjustable posts proportioned and designed to be moved into lifting engagement with frame members of a vehicle to be towed, without interference with other depending vehicle parts, the beam being provided with guideways for the sling towing chains, and the appliance being proportioned and designed to hold the beam and the chains below the level of other depending vehicle parts to prevent damage thereto when a vehicle is lifted and towed by means of the sling.

United States Patent Hobbs et al.

Oct. 2, 1973 ADJUSTABLE SPACER BLOCK SYSTEM FOR USE IN TOWING VEHICLESInventors: Dewitt C. Hobbs, Fairland; Robert L. Hauk, Indianapolis, bothof Ind.

Assignee: Dewitt C. Hobbs, trustee, Fairland,

Ind.

Filed: Aug. 11, 1972 Appl. No.: 279,847

US. Cl. 214/86 A, 280/495 Int. Cl 860p 3/12 Field of Search 214/86 A;280/495,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1968 Menzl 214/86 A X 3,610,44710/1971 orm .1 214/86 A Primary Examiner-Albert J, MakayAttorney-William R. Coffey An appliance for use with a vehicle tow slingcomprising a cross beam having two upstanding, adjustable postsproportioned and designed to be moved into lifting engagement with framemembers of a vehicle to be towed, without interference with otherdepending vehicle parts, the beam being provided with guideways for thesling towing chains, and the appliance being proportioned and designedto hold the beam and the chains below the level of other dependingvehicle parts to prevent damage thereto when a vehicle is lifted andtowed by means of the sling.

ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PMENTEU 2 975 SHEET 2 BF 2ADJUSTABLE SPACERBLOCK SYSTEM FOR USE IN TOWINGVEIIICLES In recentyears,it has become more and morefrequently, necessary to towunoccupiedautomobiles away from the scenesof damage, stalling orimproper parking; and what is knownas sling-towing has been found to bethemostpracticalmode of moving such vehicles. In sling-towing, one endof, the vehicle to be towed=is lifted by derrick means on the towingvehicle while the wheels atthe opposite end of the vehicle to be towedremainonthe ground. An anchor bar is tucked under the leadingend of thevehicle to be towed and is connected by chains to suitable points. onthechassis while broad, flexible strap means extends upwardly from theanchor bar for connection'with the lifting means on the towing vehicle.One popularform of sling-towing device is disclosed in the prior patenttoG. E. Holmes, US. Pat. No. 2,913,131, issued Nov. 17, 1959. The devicetherein disclosed tends to preventthe towed vehicle from being damagedby the towing equipment; but it has beenfound that some of therelatively fragile vehicle parts which are disposed beneath the framemembers of some vehicles are, in fact, sometimes damaged during the useof commercial embodiments of such towing devices.

Furthermore, because various makes and models of today'sautomobiles arenotuniform in width, length and the distribution of such relativelyfragile parts, it is difficult for a serviceman so toarrange the severalparts of'the towing device .as to avoid damage to various parts of thevehicles to be towed.

The primary object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide anapplianceso constructed as to be usable, with any commercialsling-towing equipment, to engage and retain .the:towing chains in suchrelation to the frame of a vehicle :to be towed as to hold those chainsaffirmatively out of possible engagementwith any vehicle part and tosustain the lifting load upon those chains wholly from the frame membersof the vehicle to be towed, the appliance being adjustable so that it isreadily ,insertable between the towing chains and the frame members ofthe vehicle to be towed.

Furtherobjects of the invention will appearas the description proceeds.4

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this inventionmay beembodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that change may be made in the specificconstructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of theappended claims is not violated.

1n the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of the front end of an automobilelifted for towing with our appliance in operative position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the rear end of an automobile so lifted;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the rear end of an automobileso lifted;

FI G. 4 is a perspective view of our appliance, showing fragments of thetowing chains operatively associ ated therewith;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 55 ofFIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a modified form of ourappliance.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be seenthat we have illustrated a lifter bar 10 which is connected, by twobroad, flexible straps 12, to an anchor bar which is preferably providedat the midpoint of its length with a swivel fitting 16 for attachment toan extensible bar 22 (FIG. 3) on a tow truck. Towingchains 18, 18 areconnected to opposite ends of the anchor bar and are provided at theirfreeends with hooks 20 which may be engaged at-suitable points to thevehicle chassis. As shown, the hooks are engaged with the lowersuspension bars for the vehicle front wheels.

A lifter chain 24, which is a part of the derrick equipment of aconventional tow truck, is suitably engaged with the lifter bar 10 atthe midpoint of its length.

It will be seen that, when the anchor bar 14 is tucked under the frontend of a vehicle to be towed and the hooks 20 are suitably engaged, andwhen lifting force is applied to the chain .24, the straps 12, 12 willwrap about the bumper 28 to lift the front wheels of the vehicle,whereafter the vehicle may be towed behind the tow truck. Ideally, thestraps will not engage the panel 30, because that panel in many vehiclesis not designed to withstand stresses of the type which might be appliedthereto by the bands 12; but it will be appreciated that if the anchorbar 14 is allowed to come too close to the vehicle frame members 31, thestraps may so engage the panel member 30.

Slack chains26, 26 connect the lifter bar 10 with the anchor bar 14merely as a safety measure, in case one of the straps l2should break orstretch unduly.

Referringto FIG. 2, it will be noted that the fuel tank 32 and thetailpipes 34, 34 of the vehicle extend below the frame members 31 andmight well be engaged and damaged by the chains 18 or by any elementspanning the chains 18.

Toensure such a location of the parts of the sling lift above describedas to avoid damage to relatively fragile parts of the vehicle, weprovide the appliance illustrated indetail in FIGS. 4 and 5.

A sturdy cross beam 36 which may of any desired construction provides onits upper surface a longitudinal trackway38. The beam 36 may be solid,or it may be tubular as shown, but its upper surface willbesubstantially flat. The trackway 38 may be of any desired form; but wehave shown it as fabricatedfrom parallel, longitudinal battens'40, 40carrying inturned slats 42, 42 and running the full length of the beam.Preferably, stops 44 and 46 are permanently located at opposite ends ofthe trackway. The beam will be of sufficient length more than to spanthe distance between frame members 31 of the widest vehicles to beencountered.

A post 48 is slidably mounted in the trackway 38 near I one end of thebeam 36. As shown, the post 48 comprises an I-bar section whose lowerflanges 50 are entrapped beneath the slats 42 whereby said post isguided for adjustment longitudinally of the beam 36. The upper flangesof the I-bar section thus constitute a table 52; and preferably arubberoid pad 54 is secured coincidently to cover said table. We haveshown four headed screws 56 taking through the pad 54 and through boresin the table 52 to receive nuts 58 below the table, the screw headsbeing countersunk below the upper surface of the pad 54; but it. will beobvious that other expedlents may be used for securing the pad in placeon the table.

A second post 60, identical in all respects with the post 48, issimilarly mounted in the trackway 38 near the opposite end of the beam36.

Guideways 62, 64 extending transversely of the beam 36 open downwardlyfrom the lower surface of said beam for receiving, respectively, thechains l8, 18 to maintain separation between said chains and to retainsaid beam against transverse movement relative to the vehicle once thebeam has been located.

From the above description it will be apparent that after the hooks 20,20 have been attached and before any lifting force has been applied tothe sling through the chain 24, the posts 48 and 60 may be adjustedalong the beam 36 so that they may be threaded between other dependingparts of the vehicle to move into engagement, respectively, with theopposite frame members 31. Now, the bar may be lifted to enter thechains l8, 18 into the guideways 62, 64 and to lift the beam 36 to pressthe pads 54, 54 against the respective frame elements.

In this position, the "separated posts 48 and 60 have been moved pastany depending parts to supporting relation with the vehicle framemembers, while the beam 36 itself is held below the level of anyrelatively fragile parts and the beam in turn holds the chains 18, 18below the level of any such parts. Still further, the anchor bar 14 isheld at a low enough level so that, when vehicle-lifting force isapplied to the sling, the straps 12 will completely clear any vehicleparts below the bumper 28 and the angle of inclination of the straps 12will be such that the horizontal component of the lifting force appliedto the straps will be minimal, thus avoiding damage even to the bumper28 or its supporting structure.

A modified form of appliance is illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the beam66 is formed of malleable metal rolled to define inturned edges 68 and70 to perform the function of the battens 40 and slats 42. In this formof the invention, stop tabs 72 and 74 are turned upwardly at oppositeends of the web of the beam to prevent complete removal of the posts 48and 60 whose lower flanges are entrapped and guided beneath the rollededges 68 and 70 of the beam. Guideways 76 and 78, equivalent instructure and function to the guideways 62 and 64, are provided on thelower surface of the beam- 66.

We Claim as Our Invention:

1. An appliance for use in sling-towing a vehicle formed to provide apair of laterally-spaced, downwardly-facing frame members adjacent anend of the vehicle with relatively fragile depending parts in proximitywith said frame members, by means of a Sling comprising a lifter bar, ananchor bar connected to said lifter bar by flexible strap means and hookmeans connected to said anchor bar by flexible strand means, said hookmeans being engaged with the vehicle chassis, said appliance comprisingcross beam means spanning said frame members, two upstanding postslongitudinally spaced from each other on the upper surface of said beammeans and engageable respectively with the downwardly-facing surfaces ofsaid frame members to support said vehicle end and space said beam meansbelow said relatively fragile parts, said beam means being interposedbetween said strand means and said relatively fragile parts, andcooperating means mounting at least one of said posts for independentadjustment longitudinally on said beam means.

2. The appliance of claim 1 in which said beam means provideslongitudinal trackway means along its upper surface and said posts areguided by said trackway means for independent movement along saidtrackway means.

3. The appliance of claim 1 including longitudinallyspaced,transversely-extending guide means on the lower surface of said beammeans for cooperative reception of said strand means.

4. The appliance of claim 2 in which each post carries anupwardly-facing rubberoid pad.

5. A towing device for a vehicle having laterally spaced apartdownwardly facing frame members adjacent an end of the vehicle, saiddevice comprising, in combination, an anchor bar having a center portionand opposite end portions, means for lifting said anchor bar, a pair ofhooks for engaging laterally spaced apart portions of the underside ofsuch a vehicle, strand means for connecting said hooks respectively tosaid opposite end portions, and cross beam means interposed between saidstrand means and the vehicle to rest on said strand means, said crossbeam means providing two upstanding posts longitudinally spaced fromeach other for engaging respectively such frame members and twolongitudinally spaced guideways engaging respectively said strand means,the distance between said posts being adjustable along the cross beammeans, and cooperating means on the cross beam means and posts providingsaid adjustment.

1. An appliance for use in sling-towing a vehicle formed to provide apair of laterally-spaced, downwardly-facing frame members adjacent anend of the vehicle with relatively fragile depending parts in proximitywith said frame members, by means of a sling comprising a lifter bar, ananchor bar connected to said lifter bar by flexible strap means and hookmeans connected to said anchor bar by flexible strand means, said hookmeans being engaged with the vehicle chassis, said appliance comprisingcross beam means spanning said frame members, two upstanding postslongitudinally spaced from each other on the upper surface of said beammeans and engageable respectively with the downwardlyfacing surfaces ofsaid frame members to support said vehicle end and space said beam meansbelow said relatively fragile parts, said beam means being interposedbetween said strand means and said relatively fragile parts, andcooperating means mounting at least one of said posts for independentadjustment longitudinally on said beam means.
 2. The appliance of claim1 in which said beam means provides longitudinal trackway means alongits upper surface and said posts are guided by said trackway means forindependent movement along said trackway means.
 3. The appliance ofclaim 1 including longitudinally-spaced, transversely-extending guidemeans on the lower surface of said beam means for cooperative receptionof said strand means.
 4. The appliance of claim 2 in which each postcarries an upwardly-facing rubberoid pad.
 5. A towing device for avehicle having laterally spaced apart downwardly facing frame membersadjacent an end of the vehicle, said device comprising, in combination,an anchor bar having a center portion and opposite end portions, meansfor lifting said anchor bar, a pair of hooks for engaging laterallyspaced apart portions of the underside of such a vehicle, strand meansfor connecting said hooks respectively to said opposite enD portions,and cross beam means interposed between said strand means and thevehicle to rest on said strand means, said cross beam means providingtwo upstanding posts longitudinally spaced from each other for engagingrespectively such frame members and two longitudinally spaced guidewaysengaging respectively said strand means, the distance between said postsbeing adjustable along the cross beam means, and cooperating means onthe cross beam means and posts providing said adjustment.